Favorite Web Sites: History

The web sites featured this month have been critically evaluated
and selected by the IU Northwest librarians as well as a group of academic
and public librarians across the United States who compile a yearly Best
Free Reference Web Sites List for the American
Library Association. Here is a list of selection
criteria initially created by the MARS Best Free Websites
Committee to choose these sites. The Library hopes our readers
will find these web sites useful for locating reliable, accurate
and authoritative information on the Internet.

American Memory is an ongoing resource of digital images, audio and media
clips embracing all aspects of American history and culture. This extensive
collection provides access to over 7 million digital reproductions of primary
sources from over 100 important historical collections from the Library
of Congress and other participating museums and institutions. In addition
to the digital resources, the site includes The Learning Page, a teacher's
guide to assist in instructional support and learning, and Today in History
which gives a brief historical account of an important event in American
history occurring on that day. This excellent, frequently updated site
is highly recommended for librarians, researchers, teachers, and students
seeking to incorporate digital images into their presentations and class
assignments. (Summary used with permission of the MARS Best Free Websites
Committee)

This site's mission is to be a "portal created for students, history educators,
and general history enthusiasts" and consists of annotated lists of recommended
history sites that are divided by topic and rated by the site's creators for "usefulness
and accuracy." Broad periods such as Prehistory, Medieval, and 20th Century history
are listed and further subdivided into manageable topics and periods. Best of
History Websites also identifies sites that are particularly useful for lesson
plans, research and multimedia. Although coverage of the period between the Middle
Ages and the modern/20th century is not particularly strong, overall this frequently
updated site lives up to its name and its mission. (Summary used with permission
of the MARS Best Free Websites Committee)

"HyperHistory is an expanding scientific project presenting 3,000 years of world
history with an interactive combination of synchronoptic [simultaneously presented
and viewable] lifelines, timelines, and maps." The unique construction of the
site allows history to be "viewed" rather than read, although the option of browsing
and searching brief text biographies (1010 total) is available. The collection
of timelines can be viewed by time period, event (including a new chronology
of the 2001-02 terrorist attacks), and person; names on the timeline are color-coded
to indicate area of primary influence (science, arts, religion, politics). There
is also an extensive collection of event and time period-related maps. The site
is complemented by linked text of a "comprehensive world history" that features
bibliographies and web links for further research. A valuable site, especially
for K-12 and undergraduate use. (Summary used with permission of the MARS
Best Free Websites Committee)

AMDOCS is part of the University of Kansas' digital library, CARRIE: A Full Text
Electronic Library. It contains links to the full text of over 400 primary source
documents relating to the study of American history which have been digitized
by a variety of academic institutions. The documents, which cover the 15th century
through the 21st century, are easily accessible from a straightforward chronological
listing of the events that inspired them. Because these documents have been created
by many different institutions as part of separate digital projects, users will
find considerable variation in the type of accompanying materials available for
each and should take particular note of any copyright or other use restrictions
noted. (Summary used with permission of the MARS Best Free Websites
Committee)

IU Libraries Shift from Paper to Electronic Circulation Notices

In a move that speeds transmission and saves paper, the IU libraries will begin
sending electronic overdue notices, recalls and due-date reminders, and
recall notices. As an IU student, faculty or staff member, you will begin receiving
the notices via your IU Northwest e-mail account beginning November 24, 2003. This new
service is another example of the advantages of having an IU Northwest e-mail account.

This service complements other online features that make it easier for you
to manage library transactions. You may review a list of materials you have
checked out and renew those items online. Go to IUCAT at www.iucat.iu.edu ,click
on the "My Account" button and log in using your network
user name and password. Follow the instructions to see how to renew items or
view what you have checked out.

The Indiana University Libraries recently subscribed to ACM Portal,
a database devoted to the newest developments in computer science and technology.
Produced by the Association for Computing Machinery, this electronic resource
features the following full-text collections.

• The ACM Digital Library consists of a full-text collection
of every article published by the Association including over 50 years of archives.
The journal collection is keyword searchable and offers a table of contents
service.

• The Guide to Computing Literature is a bibliographic
collection of computer science literature compiled from major computing publishers
with over 750,000 entries. It also offers full-text access to computer software
and hardware reviews.

To access ACM Portal, IU Northwest students, faculty and staff can go
to the IU
Northwest Library
Electronic Information Page from campus or off campus computers via a VPN
connection. At the Electronic Information Page screen, click the All Databases
Listed Alphabetically link under the Electronic Resources heading.
At the next screen, select ACM Portal.